ONE OF THE 58 VICTIMS WAS BURIED IN AN ERIC CHURCH T-SHIRT. HE WAS 29. His name was Sonny Melton. He died shielding his wife from the bullets. Two nights before the massacre at Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Eric Church stood on that same stage. He jumped into the crowd, shook hands, hugged fans, saw smiling faces with their hands in the air. 48 hours later — those exact spots became a killing field. Church couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t think. He’d promoted travel packages to help fans get to Vegas. “I felt like the bait,” he said. So he did the only thing he knew. He wrote a song called “Why Not Me.” No studio. No polish. Just a broken man with a guitar at the Grand Ole Opry, voice cracking, asking God one question — why them and not me? He left two seats empty that night. One for Sonny. One for Heather, Sonny’s wife — who survived. What Church said next about those empty chairs… that’s the part that wrecked everyone in the room.
One of the 58 Victims Was Buried in an Eric Church T-Shirt. He Was 29. Sonny Melton was 29 years…